THE MASQUERADE OVERTURE

Perfect candidate to compare it to "Not of This World", because where "Not..." is mostly darker in atmosphere and over-synthesized (which is in fact positive thing, because you can do good music which draws energy from both sides, pos., or negative) and I can imagine how many were disappointed by this. I like it that way, I gave "...World" full rating, but here, I just don't know. Also this is fine, because this album is not instant catcher (by my opinion, it took few listens to get into it).

So instead of dark, I feel more of playful melodies (except melancholic Paintbox of course) and different kind of synths, maybe even altered guitar solos. It's different, that's for sure. There's even Irish sound-like The Pursuit of Excellence and very, very optimistic and uplifting epic Guardian of My Soul, which can really improve your mood. But something is not right here. Of course, there's a trademark Pendragon sound and atmosphere, but it works with less intensity, than "...of This...", simply - I don't like this one so much. I like the fact that there's again some kind of story, not so interesting for me than "Not...", but it's here for those who can understand it. Also, third in a row of magical covers.

4(-) for decent Pendragon album, which means that it's almost masterpiece in terms of prog. But not